Weeks, Rebecca, Russ, Garry R., Alcala, Angel C., and White, Alan T. (2009) Community-based MPAs: their contribution towards achieving regional-scale conservation targets in the Philippines. In: Proceedings of the International Marine Conservation Congress Annual Convention. From: International Marine Conservation Congress Annual Convention, 17-24 May 2009, Washington, DC, USA.

PDF (Published Version) Restricted to Repository staff only

Abstract

Located within the coral triangle, the Philippines is widely recognised as a global priority for marine conservation. Despite enormous pressure on marine resources, the Philippines has emerged as a success story, with hundreds of no-take marine protected areas (MPAs). Much of this success has been attributed to a community-driven, ‘bottom-up’ approach to MPA implementation. However, such approaches are fundamentally at odds with the concept of regional-scale conservation planning. Local-scale objectives, typically fisheries management, differ from regional-scale objectives that emphasise the representation of biodiversity. Using a newly compiled database with records for more than 700 reserves, we assessed the feasibility of achieving regional-scale conservation objectives through community-based MPA implementation. The current extent and distribution of MPAs does not adequately represent biodiversity. At present, only 2.8% of coral reef area in the Philippines is protected within no-take MPAs. Moreover, 90% of this area occurs within just two sites, with the majority of MPAs below the recommended minimum size of 1km2. However, inter-protected area spacing is such that larval connectivity between sites is likely, providing opportunities to develop regional-scale networks using existing MPAs as a foundation. Our results indicate that, even if adopted universally, community-based MPAs will not be sufficient to meet conservation targets without large increases in size. We thus recommend a two-pronged approach, whereby continued efforts to increase the number of community-based MPAs are supplemented by the designation of additional large no-take areas with a conservation focus.

Item ID:	10543
Item Type:	Conference Item (Research - E1)
Keywords:	conservation biology; marine protected areas; community based conservation; coral reefs; fisheries management
Related URLs:	http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/imcc/program.... http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/imcc/Program_...
Date Deposited:	20 Apr 2010 23:57
FoR Codes:	05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity @ 50% 05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050209 Natural Resource Management @ 50%
SEO Codes:	96 ENVIRONMENT > 9613 Remnant Vegetation and Protected Conservation Areas > 961303 Protected Conservation Areas in Marine Environments @ 100%
Downloads:	Total: 5
	More Statistics